Ooops, your image is broken here Dave :/

Thanks Jem, it's uploading as we speak.

Lovely colours in the sky. It's still a very "chomasia" shot, even if it's not what i'd class as one of your best. Very nice all the same :)

The image is still broken. :(

From what I can see in the thumbnail, I like it. I happen to like your comfort zone. :)

Weren't you changing servers? :)

Yep, i can only see the thumbnail

the thumbnail looks marvelous :) I really like the small format. Just joking dave. I hope this isn't getting too stressful (hopefully, it's just a broken link, and not a server problem)

Oops. Sorry about the main image. For some reason, it initially loaded fine on my machine but – after reading your comments – I got an error message to the effect that it couldn't be displayed because it contains errors. Hopefully – touch wood – it's now fixed.

Seems to be working here now, Dave.

I enjoy the detail of the hills on the opposite coastline. Not something I noticed at first glance, but certainly something that adds depth, and not just physically speaking.

Re: the comfort zone, I agree that it's necessary but I'd also be ecstatic if my best pictures turned out as well as your 'comfortable' shots.

Very serene. I'm enjoying this series of beach pictures. It's always very nice to see the same location in many different angles.

I'm extremely envious of you... I moved away from the beach before I got into photography... If only I knew then what I know now.. haha -- Nice shot :)

I like how the post starts to hit shadow about halfway down. And, at that same vertical position, the water breaks for the wind a little... the two phenomena combined gave me the impression that it was being reflected at that point... how odd.

I think this is a nice shot and yeah it's like a few others on your site but they work as part of a theme. I like hwo the mist has created a layering effect on the land in the distance. BTW I still haven't forgotten about the Wedding and will be contacting you again soon! Cheers Paul!

I like the pastel shades in the shot, as well as the fact the rust on the post seems to match the colours of the stones. I'd be interested to see a long exposure night shot of this with the light on.

Wow - another really nice 'beach series' shot. The colours harmonise really well together and, as others have commented, combine to create a lovely, serene atmosphere.

The image seems a little out of focus, and im not too sure about the colour seems a little over saturated for me.

I am a fan of your work and do think that the subject and composition of this shot is quite good, but I think either a little more work in photoshop or a little less (not sure if what we see is due to overworking???).

I've played with it a little and I prefer the image in either gray scale or just reducing the saturation slightly. Plus a little sharpening!

Its just my opinion. I'm sure many people will be in awe as usual :D.

PS this image seems to look better on grey background

Heres a desaturated copy of the image just thought i'd let people know what i mean.

appologies if im being too critical :S

It's amazing, the variety of your photography, David. Sometimes it's not only breathtakingly beautiful and brilliantly manifested, but often highly thought-provoking as well.

Then there are these...

Once someone has established themselves (with a body of beautiful or often thoughtful "work") they acquire a following of some sort (of which I am one of yours). Then, they can sometimes, if they don't start doing it too consistently and/or for too long, put up a picture (or whatever their medium is) of a pepsi can on the beach (or a block of concrete half-wrapped in aluminum foil in their sculpture show, or whatever) and many of their "flock" will stand around oohing and ahhing and discussing all the wonderful, skillfully expressed artistic implications and various clever executions.

I think this (and the tire one just before) is a picture of stuff that is not interesting, photographed in a way which is not interesting. I understand that sometimes one needs to use a piece of "creative" equipment for just such, depending of course on all the incomprehensible fluctuations of human mood and need, AND maybe to then post it where everyone who comes along can see it; I'm just not sure why anyone who does come along, even if they are committed to regularly doing so and for good reason, would stand around saying "oooooh, what "art", in response to it.

There is "beauty (and interesting) is in the eye of the beholder" of course... but then there is also "The Emperor's New Clothes" too.

But I will come back for a loong time anyway, because there are such amazing gems in your creative lexicon, that looking at a lot of these and even one or two of those, it seems to me, is still highly worth it.

AND, thank you VERY much for making the lot of it clickably available to all of us. Especially at the price we pay! ;-)

I have to wonder if many have forgotten the fact that this is a blog. It's Dave's blog. He can put up what he'd like and if people like it, great. If they don't, fine. Why people seem to want to put such pressure on him about every single thing he puts up is beyond me. I cringe at some of the comments that seem to smack him on the hand for not, in their opinion, producing a masterpiece every single day. It's almost as if when people have nothing constructive to say so they go for the condescending, "I know you can do better, young man!"

I'm also not sure why if someone likes something someone else deems "not so good" then they are a part of some flock. Saying that is as silly as saying that those who don't like that Dave's blog is popular or who pick the images to death are all jealous. I'm not saying people shouldn't discuss his work or express that they aren't wild about an image but some seem to take themselves so seriously. I suppose my point is that constructive criticism would be a nice addition to some of the comments. It's pretty to the point if someone likes something. If someone doesn't, tell Dave why and what he could do to improve it.

JD: no offense but Dave's image is much more pleasing. In this instance desaturating the image really leaves it dull. I think the draw to this image is the subtle play of color and shade. At least in my opinion.

Interesting, it's all very interesting. Amazing what you can do with optics, CCD chips, a bit of software and the internet. I like it.

i wrote a loooong comment and it just got deleted by your server! :(

Solid effort David. The distant purple/pink mountains against the blue water are just tremendous. Personally, I love your comfort zone...and the beach. (I also like JDs unsaturated version, not better, just different.) As for the comments above, and I know they were well meant, I think you have to remember that DJN here is is putting up a shot EVERY DAY. Not by way of excuse - thats just the way it is. Not every shot is the greatest work of art seen my man (or woman) - but I have to say - and this is even though some do not personally appeal to my taste (the graffitti shots for example) I think you have to admit that technically and artistically they are all solild and competent, again, considering the volume David has committed himself to, which is itself an art. They need to be view in that light - a photoblog. On top of that, I for one have seen a very high percentage of real gems here. I don't oooh and aaah over every one, most days I don't even comment.....but I come back EVERY DAY to pay homage to a real workhorse, who every now and again, blows me away, and at least once or twice a week I leave this site saying "Damn, some day I will take a shot like that one." Your work, time and effort is greatly appreciated Dave. Cheers.

Rob in Buffalo

I really enjoy this image, as well as your others. I haven't come across one that I have disliked. You're taste is wonderful. Looking at your photographs makes me feel intelligent. I love picking them apart to look at particular parts of your photos. Then once I understand the parts i put it all in perspective. The naming of your pieces is also magnificent. For instance some of my favorites are "The Cleanest Beach" and "Remotely Interesting". The titles compliment your photos very well and add a great effect. To tell you the truth, and I'm really not trying to sound like a suck up or anything, but you're photos are some of the post appealing I have ever seen. They really compliment my taste. I appreciate your work very much. I look forward to more of your work

a blog is a public display.

we used to write journals (diaries), but now many people would rather do public displays.

public displays, because someone has personally endeavored to put whatever it is in front of people instead of just making a record for themselves (where no opinions/criticisms are invited or made), are by nature viewed differently than journals/diaries, which of course do not warrant opinions/expressions of response.

I'm really beginning to get a feel for that coastline. It's a very scenic part of the world (or at least, you make it appear so).

This is not one of my favourites, but I don't expect greatness every day. Anyone who does is expecting too much. I really admire the determination to post a shot a day, and I'm under no illusions that djn himself thinks it's a masterpiece a day, just a photo a day (or nearly)...

I think the comments on followers and all that are misplaced. People will like different things. Just because someone might say ooh aahh, doesn't mean they are some sort of supplicating syphocant. ;)

I would of course be interested to hear Dave's comments on "fame", daily masterpieces and the like, but I also wouldn't be offended or surprised if he chooses not to go there. It's his blog, and we are just visitors. And it's worthwhile remembering what your mother no doubt taught you - that visitors should be polite to their hosts.

Those hills in the background look interesting. I can't help thinking that using the long end of that zoom and trying for a sea, land and sky textural (without the post) might work?

Nice pic but agree with the comment about it perhaps being a bit over saturated. Still pleasing to the eye though.

I like the saturation, its how everything appears to look in the weak afternoon winter sunlight, very peaceful image, i think that probably comes from it being shot in your comfort zone, very nice shot.

mmm.

Well, I come here every day but I seldom comment. The reason being is that I don't really feel the need to. I just like your work, not all of it, but most of it. Wether that makes a difference to you, Dave, is highly doubtful. I think you'd post regardless of people's opinions and that's the whole point isn't it? Sometimes I think people are looking to hard, trying to find faults in your work or over playing them.

As for this type of shot, well, actually it's my favourite kind. Landscapes and seas are right up my street and the coastline where you live is extremely beautiful. My only wish is that there are more!

Keep up the good work.

the sky here is beautiful! great shot!

I really like the solitude in this shot...what land mass is in the background? Cool sky too

Peter Cohen, Enike, and Rob in Buffalo, among others. Thank you for eloquently stating positions I hold personally. Of course, none of that matters as long as DJN is doing what he loves. He tells us of his frustrations, his joys and his efforts. He bares his photographic soul to us here in the blog world. Cheers, David. You are appreciated.

Great colors and detail. I dig it.

JD: you may be right about the under-sharpening. The original is sharp, but I may have underdone the sharpening on this version.

As for the saturation: a lot of the time I intentionally oversaturate a shot, but not in this instance. What you see here is pretty much how the scene appeared. Well, perhaps not quite as vivid, but close.

peter: I'd disagree that this is in uninteresting subject, but would agree that I could have photographed it in a more innovative way ... but I didn't want to. For me, this is a relatively straight shot of a scene that I found visually attractive ... no more, no less. Sure, I could have taken a more creative angle on this one (in various different ways) but I'm not sure that that's what I wanted to say. One of my self-appointed tasks as a photographer is to document my surroundings, particularly the coast. This is an effort towards that end.

Enike: thanks. I do welcome critiques of my work, but do sometimes feel as though the fact that this is a blog is overlooked; i.e. not everything I post is of the same standard. That said, I wouldn't want to discourage people from picking apart my weaker efforts.

Rob: the land in the background is the southern edge of the Lake District.

Everyone else: thanks, and just a quick general point about comments ...

If I didn't want comments I wouldn't have a commenting system, and if I only wanted a particular sort of comment, I'd say so. I guess that the bottom-line is that I'm happy that people stop by and say what's on their minds - postive or negative. And sure, some comments are more 'useful' to me than others, but I wouldn't want to dictate what form any comment should take. So, as always, just let me know what you think and we'll go from there.

Well I like this shot, I live far from the sea and such a picture is always welcome. Not your best Dave, but still a really good one I'd say.

Dave, I did know/presume at first view that the "more basicness" of this photo was pretty much what you wanted - your skills are so advanced that the only way you'd HAVE a [more simply documentative] photograph like this is if it WAS exactly what you wanted. And, as I mentioned in my comment, I think it's just fine to use "creative" equipment in just this way; I have done so myself many times in my own media, using other tools than cameras.
My comment was about how SOME (perhaps only a few) of your "fans" fail to notice that this sort of photo isn't even aiming at the same sort of goal as most of your work (being "great art", which much of it is in my view), and will go on about it (pro or con) as if it WAS supposed by you to be on that plane too, as if ALL of your pieces here were intended (by you) to be operating on that plane.
The first (and often only) thing some folks think of whenever the "Emperor's New Clothes" is mentioned is the observation the story holds forth about the Emperor's various frailties. Not the observation I was making at all - I see you as having full control and self-astuteness about your own photography... Perhaps the most powerful and generally salient "moral" in the "Emperor" story though, is the one about the tendency of [some- the number varying with the situation of course] people to start mooing if they see/hear others in the room mooing, or if there was a lot of mooing going on yesterday, and they start thinking that is what is always appropriate. And just how committed to it they can get, where then they are mooing away with full vigor themselves, EVEN on the one odd day where there's obviously nothing much to moo about.

Wow, thats what I say when I see your pictures. This picture looks amazing, the rolling hills in the back looks very natural and gives the image a unique feeling to it. Plus always like images that have water in it, great work.

Mooooooo! ;)

peter: in one sense you're right, but in another I disagree. You're right that some visitors sometime appear to treat each shot I put up as directly comparable to other shots – some of which I intend as art, others as pretty pictures, some as experiments, and so on – and I agree, that doesn't always make sense. But I think it's also the case that some people like one sort of shot while others may prefer another. Put another way, a shot that you might "moo" over might not do it for someone else, and vice versa, something they like might be one of the ones where you think there's "nothing much to moo about".

Jen: baaaaaaaaaaa! ;-)

David,

Thanks for responding. The interchange of points of view, especially that we get to do that with the photographer himself, is one of the additional benefits of being a fan of your site. Your site would be worth looking at daily, even if there were no interactivity (my opinion of course), but your willingness to express your own thoughts in response to our various comments... well, it does add to it. What you do say is always thoughtfully considered and intelligent, or so it seems from here.